Students of this blog know that I have been on the park department's case about the barn at the park department office. They allowed vines to cover three sides, up to the gutters and beyond. Recently, I reported that some shingles were starting to fall off.
Last Thursday and Friday, that structure got a new roof, and the vines were cut at the foundation. The roofers pulled the vines off the gutters and roof edges. While I'm relieved to see the new roof, it would have been better workmanship had the city removed the vines earlier in the summer.
Pulling the vines back revealed that the top of the barn brick is fluted, a nice architectural feature hidden by the previous neglect. I'm hoping that after the vines die back, they will be removed. I'm hoping that they won't be allowed to grow back.
I'm not here to be polite
While a vine covered barn might appear charming, those vines cause damage. They destroy mortar and hold moisture on the bricks. I suspect that they grew into any tiny crevasse on the roof and enlarge gaps. I learned from experience that vines destroy. It would be better for the building to remove them all.
ReplyDeleteWhy wait to remove the cut vines? in my experience they are no easier to pull of when dead and dry.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they are now cut at the ground level and no longer growing, was my mission. Although unsightly when dead, beyond this post, I will be moving on from this issue.
DeleteMM
ReplyDeleteThank you for your vigilance and your advocacy. Much appreciated.
You may not always be polite but you are certainly effective.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everything.
I share the concerns of Scott and 7:39.
ReplyDeleteI’ve also found that vines are easier to remove when still alive, and leaving them there will only add to the moisture problems that come with them.
Cutting the vines at the base was a good first step, but more needs to be done if the goal is to preserve the building.
They also pose a fire hazard when they dry.
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